


Bucky's Guide To A Successful Internship and Landing the Boy

by youngavengerfeels



Series: Love, Political Ambitions, and Other Things Bucky Barnes Is Bad At [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Interns & Internships, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes, White House
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-10-13 13:49:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10515012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngavengerfeels/pseuds/youngavengerfeels
Summary: Bucky's muddling his way through his dream internship at the West Wing, but honestly he more excited about dating Captain fucking America.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So I promised this a long time ago and I wrote almost the whole fic but I wrote it out in my notebook and typing it up as been a bitch so it is going to be a chaptered fic. I'm not super sold on the series or fic name so those may change.

Ironically it wasn't Steve who had an issue with time management in their relationship. Bucky had assumed Steve would be too busy saving the world, kissing babies, all that jazz to have friends or boyfriends but apparently he had a lot of down time between earth ending catastrophes. As fair as Bucky could tell all Steve really did was wander around DC and train. Occasionally Steve would have to do a press conference but even that wasn't too often because Stark Industries had their PR team running that. 

So it was actually Bucky’s schedule from hell that prevent them from really developing their relationship. He was still taking 9 credits so he could actually finish his degree although he debated with himself everyday if dropping out was a viable option because holy shit grad school was horrible. The internship while awesome for experience and networking didn't pay well enough for Bucky to live off of so he had to continue his part time job at a coffee shop on weekends. 

Not a single person had batted an eye when Steve had first came into the shop despite the fact that Steve did nothing to try and disguise himself. It would be pretty hard to hide Steve’s muscle mass because most of the general public did not look like they were carved from marble. Bucky had specially asked if Steve had donned his hipster attire in an attempt to blend with the uppity crowd at his coffee shop, but Steve had just laughed and asked what was wrong with his clothes. 

Steve Rogers was a goddamn hipster and America had no idea. The man had an endless supply of cardigans and button downs. The only token attempt to mask his identity was a pair of oversized glasses but Bucky suspected they were more for aesthetic than disguise. The whole could have been nerdy old man but which Steve’s looks it made Bucky want to pull him into the supply closet. 

The first time Steve had visited bucky at work, Bucky had assumed it was a coincidence. “Wow! That's crazy that out of all the coffee shops you stumbled into the one I work at,” Bucky said. Steve laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah it's a pretty funny coincidence.” Steve had say way too nervously. Bucky narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 

“Are you stalking me?” Bucky asked. They had only met like a week ago and had dinner once, so it was a little early for Steve to be stalking him. He could tell though when Steve was lying, this wasn’t a chance meeting.  

“What! No, Natasha just told me I should really check this place out. I just assumed she knew how much I liked local coffee shops. I didn't realize she looked you up,” Steve said in an exasperated but fond tone because apparently invasion of privacy was something to be fond of. Not that Bucky really minded, he was just surprised Steve’s friends knew he existed. 

“So you mentioned me to your friends,” Bucky said watching Steve’s face go red.

“I may have mentioned you once or twice,” Steve said in a tone clearly going for nonchalant but the inability to look Bucky in the eye have him away in the end. 

“Don't worry my mom has heard about almost nothing else since last week,” Bucky said because if he was going to call Steve out it was only fair to call himself out too. “She says hi by the way,” Bucky chose not to tell Steve about how his mother had gushed about him finally finding a good man to go out with. The thought that his parents wouldn't approve of Steve hadn’t even crossed his mind, because come one it was Captain America. Who didn't want their son or daughter to date Captain America? Steve grinned at him.

Steve became a regular patron of the coffee shop. He insisted that it was because of the coffee was the best in town but Bucky, which actually made the coffee knew that was bullshit. He also saw the way Steve flushed when he came up with that excuse and knew Steve only hung out there for him. It totally wasn't an ego booster at all. 

Unfortunately Bucky actually had to work while he was at the coffee shop so he couldn't sit around and talk to Steve more than a couple of minutes and on his break, but still it was better than nothing. If Bucky wasn't at one of his works or in class he was normally trying to starve off a mental breakdown caused by the amount of shit he had to do. So those little conversations with Steve and just generally knowing Steve was there was nice. It wasn’t like Steve always came to the coffee shop, the man was a national icon he had shit to do, but it always improved Bucky’s day to have Steve at one of his shifts. 

  
  


Apparently Steve was concerned Bucky couldn’t feed himself because Steve insisted on taking Bucky out to dinner all the time. Bucky wasn't complaining because to be honest he did do a terrible job of remembering to eat, but really he enjoyed getting to hang out with Steve not in one of his work places. 

“Internships are just a way to reinforce a system already rigged against the poor. No one can afford to do an unpaid internship without help. So those people who either don't have a support network or whose support network can't help, aren't able to do those unpaid internships which are the only way to get the experience needed to get a job. Because apparently going tens of thousands of dollars in debt to get a degree isn't enough,” Bucky ranted over appetizers. He was fortunate enough to tk have a family who encouraged him to go to school and was able to help him out financial but not everyone was in his situation. It made Bucky mad to think about all the people who worked so hard to even get to college only to be unable to get the experience they need to get an actual job.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Bucky asked a little insecure and a little flustered. 

“I just like how passionate it you are about the subject. Even though you can work in the system, you're still aware of the disadvantaged,” Steve said with the most enduring look. He and Steve had seemed to skip the small talk phase and jump right into politics and personal history. Bucky had been a little surprised to find out how well informed Steve was but Steve had just shrugged and said people were always trying to get him to endorse this and that cause so he made a point of staying up to date with current events. Steve always got so heated when they discussed social justice issues even when they agreed. Bucky wondered how Steve had managed to hold all that passion in his body before the serum. 

“Oh my god you totally get off on social justice rants,” Bucky teased. 

“That's ok Steve you can trust me with your secret kinks,” Bucky said. 

“You’re a jerk,’ Steve said through his laughter. Bucky felt his stomach do a little flip. 

He and Steve were dating. They hadn't explicitly talked about it but they flirted shamelessly all the time and Steve took him out on dates. Bucky knew that they needed to talk about where this was going because he was falling hard for Steve and needed to make sure they were on the same page. They were moving at a snail's pace as far as Bucky was concerns. They hadn't even kissed yet which Bucky was ok with but he did really want to make out with Steve. 

When Bucky had moved to DC for grad school he had left all of his friends and family in New York. He had always been an outgoing person so Bucky had assumed he would be able To make new friends easily, but he found that he didn't have the time or energy to go out and meet people beyond the superficial networking level. Back in New York hanging out with his friends had energized Bucky but now he found most people draining which made him avoid going out with people most of the time. So the fact that he clicked so easily with Steve meant something to him and he hoped it meant something to Steve as well. 

Steve was the one that actually made sure they hung out together. If Bucky was left to his own devices he would become a workaholic shut in. His mother already worried about him as it was but she could rest a lot easier now that Steve was forcing him to take time for himself. 

  
  


“Are you going to the rally to support Planned Parenthood?” Steve asked in lieu of a greeting or an actual drink order. 

“Hello to you to you too. But yeah I want to go,” Bucky said. Steve nodded approvingly, like Bucky had passed an important test. 

“Want to go with me?” Steve asked. Bucky could picture the shit show this was going to cause. The press was going to have a fucking day if Steve went to that rally. ‘Captain America Wants To Kill Your Babies.’ That would be  a great headline, Bucky would totally read that article on Facebook. 

“Yeah sounds like it will be as fun as having to protest laws that will violate people’s basic humans rights can be,” Bucky said with a grin. “Now I think you need to either order or get out of the way.”

Steve stayed for the rest of Bucky’s shift laptop playing movies from Steve’s pop culture education list, sketchbook out. Bucky saw Steve bent over the sketch book all the time but had never actually gotten to see it. He wanted to ask but knew people's art work could be very personal so he didn't want to overstep. 

They decided to meet up at the coffee shop to walk over to the rally together since it was fairly close. Bucky had made it a point to never spend any time at work without being paid to be there so it was weird standing in line to order coffee for him and Steve. Bucky was just picking up their to go cups when Steve came in wearing a tank top that said ‘Girls just want  to have FUN-damental human rights.’ Bucky took a moment to appreciate Steve’s arms because damn they looked good. Steve also had a sign with an unflattering, but very well drawn caricature of the Senator who'd had proposed the bill. It reminded Bucky of those political cartoons in history textbooks. It took Bucky a moment to realize that Steve probably drew a few of those back in the 30s. Everyone knew the propaganda machine had erased the inconvenient parts of Captain America’s history so he would not be surprised at all of Steve had been a political cartoonist. It was fine for Captain America to critics other countries government but god forbid Americans think critically of their own systematic problems. 

Since Bucky had started to get to know exactly how much of a little shit Steve really was, he wondered if the army had known what they were getting into by picking him for the super solider program. Getting the chance to know Steve beyond the propaganda was something Bucky hadn't known he needed but was eternally grateful for. The history books and documentaries tended to romanticize Steve’s early life of poverty, talking about how he he was the epitome of the American Dream working to go from sickly, unable to even hold a job to the literal picture of American identity. Bucky had always been a little apprehensive of that narrative and now that he actually knew Steve he could help but feel sick to his stomach seeing what history had turned Steve’s legacy into. People who touted Captain America as the conservative spokesperson were going to go ballistic once it got out that Steve was pro-choice among other things. It was probably for the best that Steve had been on ice during the Red Scare. 

“Nice shirt,” Steve said gesturing to Bucky’s own “A Woman's Place is in the House and Senate” shirt. 

“Thanks,” Bucky Said handing Steve his coffee and they headed out to the rally. 

They walked close enough to be bumping shoulders. They joined the mass of people funneling into the plaza where the rally was being held. It didn't take long for people to start recognizing Steve. Bucky liked all the double stakes people did, gaze sliding over Steve just to whip back around when they realize yeah that really was Captain America.  The news at Captain America was in attendance must have been passed around because it didn't take long before people were stopping Steve to ask for pictures. Bucky had quite a few phones shoved at him as people scrambled to get their pictures. Twitter was probably blowing up right now. 

“I always hear people saying the women’s rights issue is over here in America and the fight lies over seas but when I see women having to fight for their right to a safe abortion or even maternity leave it is hard to believe there is equality. Americans need to be just as critical of their own government as they would be of anywhere else. Just because women appear to have equal rights doesn't mean they do,” Steve said into the microphone of an inspiring high school journalist who was probably going to be able to get into any journalism college program she wanted to after this interview. The girl thanked Steve profusely and clutched her phone to her chest like someone was going to steal it as she ran back to her group of friends. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Steve asked squirming a little bit. 

“I just love the way you look when you're passionate about something,” Bucky said extending his hand to Steve, who slipped his hand into Bucky’s and gave a gentle squeezed. He knew he was being sappy but he had always been a romantic. 

“You're a dork,” Steve said.

Bucky loved being around so many like minded people who were passionate enough to actually do something about the issues they cared about. They spent the whole morning chatting with people about current events. They all agree on the basic problems but they all had different approaches to fix the problem. 

The only real drawback were those few assholes who showed up to hassle people. Bucky didn't really understand why people were so desperate to go out of their way to attack people in very public places. Like come on dude no one at the rally is going to be on your side when you're yelling at women to keep their legs closed if they don't want to get pregnant. 

Bucky has left Steve so he could find a restroom and was making his way back to to their designated meeting spot when he saw a red faced man screaming at a girl who had to be a teenager. The girl looked like she was barely holding it together. There was no way Bucky could walk away leaving her to deal with the asshole by herself. 

“Leave her alone, dude she clearly doesn't want to talk to you,” Bucky said putting himself between the guy and the girl. 

“I was just having a conversation with the lady,” the said moving into Bucky’s space. 

“It didn't sound like much of a conversation to me,” Bucky said calmly even though his heart felt like it was going to explode it was beating so fast. 

“I just don't think it's right that hardworking taxpayers have to pay for women who have no self control to have free abortions and birth control,” the man said clearly trying to appeal to Bucky as a man. Bucky was seeing red he was so mad. Before Bucky could give the guy hell, Steve appeared out of nowhere putting a hand in his shoulder holding him back. Bucky we going to protest that the guy was asking to be punched but the absolute venom in Steve’s eyes made him pause. 

“What a lady does is none of your goddamn business, especially since I doubt any lady would willing spend time with someone as repulsive as you,” Steve said. If Captain America was insulting Bucky like that he wouldn’t ever go out in public again but the man didn't seem to have the same answer of shame because he just sneered at Steve. Apparently the guy couldn't recognize who Steve was or else he probably wouldn't be antagonizing him. Most likely the guy couldn't even imagine Steve, who grew up in the 40s not beingon his side.

“Women today have been brainwashed by those feminazis. They want to strip is men of our rights so they can be sluts and whores. Now the feminazis are trying to brainwash men too” the man said giving Bucky and Steve a disdainful looking. Bucky so did not care about this man’s opinion about him. 

Before Bucky could move to stop him, Steve decked the guy, sending him sprawling. No one moved to help the guy up. Bucky was very aware of all the phones trained on them. They were probably being live streamed on so many people's Facebook pages. Of course that was when a police officer interceded, not when the man was harassing the girl. The guy was asking to be punched so Bucky didn't feel particularly bad about it. 

“What's going on here?” The officers sled looking around the scene.

“That man assaulted me!” The man yelled. Steve for his part looked like he was considering punching the guy again even though the police were right there. The police looked at Steve a little dubiously, obviously recognizing who he was. 

They actually put Steve in handcuffs. Steve could have broken out so easy, it was ridiculous. There was no way they had put those things in him for any other purpose than shaming Steve although Steve looked more pleased with himself than anything else. 

Bucky knew the man was going to be all over the talk show circuit for the next couple days. Captain America assaulting private citizens for disagreeing with him was not a good look. Bucky felt like Steve had been totally justified to shut the guy up but knew that most people wouldn’t agree with him. For now he just needed to worry about getting to police station to see Steve. 

“Thank you for stepping in,” the girl who the ma. Had been screaming at original said before Bucky could make to follow the police officer who was taking Steve away. “Tell your friends thank you for standing up to him. I know it doesn't mean much but…” She said trailing off. Bucky smiled at her.

“Steve considered it his duty to step when something injustice is happening. I'll tell him, he'll appreciate it,” Bucky assured the girl who smiled back at him. Bucky turned to run toward the nearest police station Hoping that's where they took Steve. 

Bucky had never been inside a police station other than on a tour in first grade. Sure he wasn’t the one locked up but it was still freaking him out. Bucky knew realistically Steve didn’t need him there, he had to have a whole team of lawyers and people were already lining up outside to protest his arrest but still but felt he had to be there for moral support if nothing else. That fact that he had no idea how to bail someone out of jail meant he couldn’t offer much else. 

Bucky awkwardly approached the help desk to try and fumble his way getting Steve out of jail. There was already a man and woman chatting with the officer at the desk. The woman had beautiful red hair and was leaning casually into the officer who looked at her with rampant attention. The man had a relaxed smile but the tense way he held his body gave him away. Bucky tried to focus on going over his speech so he didn't sound like a rambling mess but his concentration was broken when he realized the people in front of him were discussing Steve. 

“I was there! That guy provoked Steve,” Bucky interjected totally forgetting to play it cool. All three people stopped talking and turned to look at Bucky. The man gave him an amused look while the woman looked bored. The officer just looked startled at Bucky’s interruption.

“It’s all taken care of Bucky. They’re be release Steve momentarily,” the woman said giving the officer look that would have made lesser men cry. Bucky was confused how she knew he was but was relieved Steve had already been taken care of. He felt a little useless but was grateful neither the less. The officer disappear presumably to get Steve. 

“So you're Bucky,” the man said. “I'm Sam, one of Steve’s friends.” Bucky shook his head. He knew Sam was looking him over so he didn't feel bad about sizing Sam up. The just looked likeable which made Bucky instantly distrust him. “He’s told us a lot about you,” Sam said. Bucky preened a little bit at that, because the idea that Steve stalked about him to his friends was so cool. 

“Natasha,” the woman said extending a hand to Buky. 

“Oh, you’re the one that sent Steve to my coffee shop,” Bucky said shaking her hand. Natahsa’s mouth curled into a pleased grin. 

“I was tired of hearing him complain about never getting to see you so I sent him to see you,” Natasha said as if that explained anything to Bucky. He liked her. Before things could inevitably get awkward an officer appeared with Steve. 

“Steve are you alright?” Bucky asked rushing to Steve as soon as the officer brought him to the lobby. Steve was grinning though like nothing had happened which comparatively to everything Steve had been through in his life, being  placed in hold for like an hour was probably nothing. That didn’t stop Bucky from being concerned. Steve grinned at Bucky, throwing his arm over Bucky’s shoulders. 

“When I said I would be there for you I didn't really picture bailing you out of jail,” Sam said clapping Steve on the back good naturedly. 

“I'll buy you guys a nice dinner,” Steve said totally unashamed. 

“Good because I already made the reservation,” Natasha said. Bucky felt his stomach flip with disappointment. He had been hoping to spend the evening with Steve. He wasn’t sure if he was invited to dinner or if it was just a friends kind of thing. “Besides Sam and I need a chance to grill Bucky here,” Natasha said flashing Bucky a grin that made him squirm but he was sweetly grateful she clarified his invitation. 

 

The restaurant Natasha pick was so incredibly out of Bucky’s league. He saw John McCain and Mitch McConnell in one corner having a hushed conversation. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were foreign diplomats there too. They were all woefully underdressed but the host didn’t say anything. Apparently hanging out with Avengers had its perks. There was no way Bucky would  ever be able to afford dinner, but Steve already said he was covering it so Bucky wasn’t going to argue and just enjoy it.

“Apparently getting thrown into holding hasn't changed much,” Steve said with almost an edge of fondness in his voice as they looked over their menus.

“Are you getting nostalgic about being arrested?” Sam asked amusement in his voice. Steve shrugged but his cheeks went a little red giving him away. 

“Steve’s a punk, of course he’s reminiscing about all the times he’s been a public menace. I want to hear the stories!” Bucky demanded. 

“Nobody likes hearing old people talk about the ‘good old days,’” Steve deflected. 

“The fact that you consider your stories about being arrested the good old days isn't helping your case, Steve,” Bucky said laughing. 

Steve eventually gave in and told them about some of the highlights of his rebellious youth. Bucky got a stitch in his side from laughing so hard. Dinner was the most fun Bucky had had in awhile. Sam and Natasha seemed to be in sync with Bucky on teasing Steve for his old man tendencies. It was also nice to see Steve so open with hsi friends. 

  
  


The rest of the weekend was not as exciting which suited Bucky just fine. Bucky wasn't sure if it would be better to check the news and find out what the media was saying about Steve getting arrested for fighting at a Pro-Choice protest or just deny and repress the fact it happened at all and go about his business as normal. Too bad the world decided to make the choice for him by shoving it in his face. 

Bucky couldn't go on Facebook without seeing someone sharing an article about the incident and their opinion on it which no one asked for. Since he was an unknown his name hadn't been mentioned, people must not have connected that they were at the event together. That was damn lucky for Bucky because he did not need to go down in history for getting Captain America arrested. All of the pictures had Bucky in the background though. His mother had called him as soon as the articles had started popping up to see if he was ok or if he needed to be bailed out of jail and then once finding out he was alright scold him for getting into fights. It was kind of embarrassing since Steve had been with him when she called. The American icon had been snickering beside him until his mom had started to scold him for fighting as well then it was Bucky’s turn to laugh.

At least his workload at his internship  kept him from being tempts to read editorials and facebook comments. Reading Facebook comments was never a good idea for one’s faith in humanity decency. He kept getting the feeling he had fucked up somehow. He had shown up 15 minutes early as usual no when he walked into the room he swore to god everyone stopped to stare at him. He was super self concessions walking to his desk. It felt like he forgot how to walk normally with people’s eyes on him. What was his supposed to do with his hands! 

His desk neighbor kept shooting him glances so which made him wonder if he had food on his face or something. He had been picking at a pimple, he had hoped it wasn't noticeable but maybe it was worse than he thought. No on was talking to him either, in fact they were avoiding him as much as possible. He tried to think back to Friday but when he had left the office everything had been normal. Which meant this had to be about the rally. Fuck. Bucky was in so much trouble. 

“Barnes! Get in here, now!” Bucky’s supervisor yelled making jump to comply. He managed not to stumble in his haste so that was a win. The door of the office slammed shut behind him. “What the fuck were you think? You can't go to a pro-choice rally when the president is pro-life,” his boss yelled. Bucky bristled. 

“The orientation packet said we were allowed to attend events as private citizens,” Bucky said on the line between defensive and nervous.  He had checked before he attended the event, he hadn't officially done anything wrong. 

“Not when they attend with Captain fucking America and get their face all over the news. We're lucky that the media hasn't latched on to you so they haven't connected this back to the president,” he said. Bucky went cold. He was going to get fired for expressing his political opinion. He had gotten into public policy because he wants to make a difference and now he was going to fail before he even graduated. 

“I'm not going to fire you this time, but get some common sense and don't openly oppose your own boss,” he said. 

Bucky went back to his desk feeling a little numb. He pulled open the report he had been working on and just stared at the cursor unable to actually process the information. He really hasn't thought it was a big deal to go the rally. He was a citizen which gave him the obligation to be politically engaged. While he agreed as with a lot of what the President had run his campaign on; better infrastructure, renewable energy, higher minimum wage, there were still things he was adamantly opposed to about the President. This was one of those cases and he wasn't going to just not say anything bad about the president just because he worked for him. That would be idiotic. 

The numb feeling started to give way to anger about the situation. He texted Steve a series of cryptic emojis to express his anger. Steve had no problem with technology but he tended to prefer long texts. Bucky had take to sending Steve just gifs or strings of emojis just to confuse him. His general feelings must have come across because Steve almost instantly texted him back a two paragraph message about how he was being chewed out too by SHIELD. He ended the text by asking Bucky out to dinner which Bucky gratefully agreed to. 

The other interns seemed to be evenly split between impressed he had the balls to do something so obviously stupid and the other half were surprised he hadn't been fired. Bucky wasn't thrilled with either reaction. He had hoped someone would have been mildly indignant about the fact that they were supposed to just give up their own political opinions. Like obviously they were representatives of the White House now so they needed to use common sense and not join like Eco terrorist groups but there really shouldn't be anything worry with attending a peaceful protest. 

Bucky spent the rest of the day trying to focus on his work and not snapping at his co-workers who were talking about him behind his back. At least he had a date with Steve to look forward to. 

They ended up going to a little Chinese buffet. Steve had seemed to think of the all you can eat aspect as a challenge. Bucky was still on his first over sized helping of general Tao chicken when Steve had already had a generous sampling of every item in the menu. 

“This isn't funny Steve, I almost got fired!” Bucky said annoyed that Steve was taking it so lightly. Steve had straight up laughed at him when he had relayed his scolding. Bucky had been hoping for indignant anger on his behalf. 

“Everyone gets fired at some point in their life Bucky. It's best not to take it as a personal insult unless it was meant to be one,” Steve said. Bucky suddenly remembered that Steve came of age in the Great Depression. He was probably used to be getting laid off all the time. He wonder what Steve would have thought of the 2008 Recession. Historians must be foaming at the mouth trying to get a hold of Steve. 

“Besides I think I'm the one who is getting the worst punishment for this. Pepper is making me do a press tour. I have to appear on Fox News, Bucky. Fox,” Steve straight up shunned like he was 12 not almost 100. 

“Because you don't want the chance to school those morons on their own shows?” Bucky asked. He normally won't bother to watch Fox even to stay informed about what the other side was saying, but he would totally watch Steve chew out a Fox anchorman. 

“Pepper said I had to play nice,” Steve pouted. Bucky seriously doubted Steve could make it through a whole press tour without an incident. Playing the part of dancing monkey back in the 40s with the USO had made Steve eternally bitter about anything public relations related. Anytime Steve had to do an interview for the sake of good PR Steve complained Intensively. Bucky thought it was kind of hilarious to see Steve go from selfish to whinny. It was nice seeing Steve not being perfect. This was going to be hilarious to watch. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah this took a lot longer to get posted than originally intended. Sorry about that...
> 
> Also sorry if this chapter is a little choppy. I am working on getting better at transitions and all that. Again I am not sold on the name of this fic so it might change. Feel free to give me suggestions here or on my tumblr youngavengersfeels.tumblr.com

A lot of the time Bucky felt like a little kid pretending to be an adult. His sense of humor often times aligned with middle schoolers so that only confirmed his theory. When he first moved into the dorms for undergrad and was the sole person responsible for his well being, he may have floundered a little bit. How was he supposed to know trying to survive off of just Starbucks and alcohol was a bad idea? Also apparently the washing machine had different settings depending on clothing type, who knew?

He was a little better about managing his life now, but there were still times he felt like he was the only guy his age who didn't have his act together. His friends from high school were starting their own businesses, getting married, having kids while Bucky struggled to do his laundry before he ran out of clean socks and underwear. And yeah sometimes he went to bars after paying bills to try and drink the stress away. Bucky was not looking forward to graduating and having to start paying back his student loans. Maybe he could just take classes at  community college for ever to keep them in deferment. 

It used to be that when Bucky would stress drink he would go to the bars alone and end up going home with someone he just met. It was horribly depressing and not a healthy cycle, waking up the next morning hungover and utterly confused to where he was. Now though his first instinct was to invite Steve who was more than willing to complain about how fucked up the world was. Getting drunk on a Sunday night when he had work the next morning was not his best idea but he did not want to think about any of his bills or responsibilities at the moment. 

“The first time I went to a grocery store I almost had a stroke. Inflation is insane,” Steve said taking a swig of beer. 

“And while the cost of living has skyrocketed the average worker's pay has stagnated. The 1% are doing alright though. ” Bucky said more than a little tipsy and outraged. “Maybe I should just go into corporate law and move back to New York. There's a lot more money there than in public serve,” Bucky said idly. He never meant it, but the idea of going to law school popped into his head frequently, plus that is what everyone assumed he was going to do when he got his bachelor's in political science. Bucky didn't hate himself that much though. Once he finished his Master’s he was done with school for awhile. Future him could worry about law school or a PHD.  

Steve gave him a scandalized look. “Corporations are evil,” Steve said. Bucky waited for the rant Steve so clearly wanted to go on, but Steve just looked at him absolutely scandalized. 

“Aren’t you close, personal friend with Tony Stark?” Bucky countered. He heard Steve grumble something about a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and chose not to comment. “Besides not all of us can live off our convictions and unending patriotism like you. The rest of us have to earn money and there's a lot of money in selling out,” Bucky said. 

“You are just trying to get a rise out of me and I chose not to stoop to that level,” Steve said. Bucky stared at him waiting because Steve not taking the chance to rant about the evils of capitalism was like man in a desert ignoring an oasis. “I’m just saying that the reason things have gotten to where they are today is because corporations have subtly changed the way people think about them. Corporations are considered people in court and get more rights than many people do,” Steve said. 

“Whatever you say pal,” Bucky said trying to get the attention of the bartender because he really needed another drink if they were going to get into this.

Monday morning found Bucky hungover and wishing call out sick was option because everything hurt. Had the sun always been that bright? He was pretty sure his microwave was trying to alert the whole building that his breakfast hot pocket was ready. Even though it caused him great pain, Bucky managed to drag himself to the office. 

Being in the West Wing always had the effect of making Bucky feel patriotic but now he just wanted the endless lines of security to end. The beeping machines were not helping his headache. 

As a good side effect of working with a bunch of workaholics was pretty decent coffee in the break room. That was Bucky’s only saving grace in the morning. He stumbled his way into the break room and poured himself a cup of coffee. He may have made an obscene noise at the first sip because sweet jesus that was what he needed right now. 

“I don't think I’ve blended into the citrine so well since I was about 100 pounds lighter,” a voice said from right behind him. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Bucky yelled, jumping. He turned to see Steve looking at him with the biggest grin. Bucky noticed that he was wearing his uniform which meant this was very much an official business visit. 

“I didn't mean to surprise you, but I think a train could have gotten the jump on you,” Steve said. 

“Not all of us are super soldiers who could literally drink a boat of alcohol and not feel a thing.” Bucky retorted. “Also what are you doing here?” 

“Last minute security debrief which actually means a mini photo shoot to show how close the administration is with Captain America,” Steve said only sounding slightly jaded which meant his acting skills were getting better apparently Natasha was rubbing off on him. Bucky was so proud. Bucky fucking loved it whenever Steve was at the White House. Steve always made a point to stop by Bucky’s desk to say hey if nothing else which meant Bucky got to show off his super hot boyfriend to all the other interns. Bucky hadn't thought of himself as the kind of person who needed to shove his relationship in people’s faces, but that was before he started dating Steve. 

“So I was thinking about how you said you were considering going corporate, which I still don’t support, but if you really want to suck up to some fat cats, Tony is making me go to a gala in two weeks and he threatened to turn me into Captain Canada if I didn't bring a date so I have a plus one if you’re interested” Steve offered.

“I don't know that actually sounds like it would be kind of funny to see,” Bucky teased. 

“Jerk,” Steve said playfully punching Bucky in the arm. “You would make me suffer through a Stark Gala by myself? Some boyfriend you are,” Steve teased. 

“Mm, alright I guess I'll go,” Bucky said in a fake put out voice. Steve rolled his eyes. 

“It'll be fun. We can get tipsy in champagne and fool around in the coat room,” Steve said. 

“You can't get tipsy,” Bucky pointed out even though that idea didn't sound bad at all. Steve laughed and shoved Bucky. 

“We can go early and make a whole weekend of it. You said you haven't seen for parents in 8 months so that would be nice,” Steve said. 

“My parents are in Brooklyn,” Bucky said confused why that mattered. 

“And Stark’s Gala is in Manhattan at that stupid, overtly phallic owner he swears isn't a testament to his ego,” Steve said.

“Tell me how you really feel about Stark Tower,” Bucky said with a laugh. Steve had an opinion on everything and he meant fucking everything. Bucky knew what he was getting into when he brought up the Dodgers moving to LA but there was no way Bucky pull have guessed that Steve was passionate about …. It must be exhausting caring so much. Bucky's thought about that every time he caught Steve in a quiet moment. Those moments when Steve just stopped and stared off into space and looked every bit of his 99 years. 

“We can stay at my parents’ house that way we don't have to worry about booking a hotel room,” Bucky said. Steve gave him a funny look. 

“Tony gave all of the Avengers their own floor in the tower, so I figured we would just stay there but if you're sure your parents wouldn't mind I'd rather not give Tony the satisfaction.” Steve said. 

Bucky wasn't going to touch that one. If Tony Stark offered him an apartment in Stark Tower, he would be all over that. But if Steve would rather stay in his parents’ little house that's what they would do. He doubted his parents would mind since they were always bugging him to visit. His mother would be estancia when he told her; not only was he going to stay the weekend, he was bringing his boyfriend home. 

“They will be thrilled,” Bucky assured Steve. 

“We can head up early on Friday and make a whole weekend of it.” Steve said sounding excited. Bucky was getting excited too. He didn’t much like the idea of going to some fancy party but the idea of going there with Steve and getting to see his family again was more than enough. 

Two intimidating looking men in suits came into the break room just then, both standing in the doorway so no one could enter or exit. It was kind of a asshole place to stand. 

“The President is ready for you Captain,” One of the suits said. 

“Duty calls,” Steve said sarcastically. Bucky wondered if it ever bugged the rest of the staff how obvious Steve made it he saw past their bullshit. 

Bucky nodded his goodbye and made his way back to his desk. He placed his coffee mug down before heading over to his supervisor’s office. He knocked and waiting for the shout to come in. His supervisor’s office was a hot mess of paperwork and books everywhere. Bucky got stressed just from looking at all the clutter. Not waiting to waste any time he got right to the point. 

“I was hoping I could get next Friday off. I am going to Stark’s Gala and wanted to head to New York early,” Bucky Said trying not to sound too nervous. 

“How the fuck did you ever invited to the Stark Gala? The President wasn't even invited,” his supervisor said sounding personally offended on the President’s behalf. Bucky wanted to say the president probably would have been invited if a tape of him telling friends that Stark Industries was going to fail because a woman had been made CEO, but that would probably be overstepping his reach as an intern. The more he learned about who the President actually was the less and less thrilled he was about working for him. The only thing that got him through it was that he truly was the only semi-acceptable option they had in the last election.

“Uh, Steve Rogers invited me,” Bucky said not sure if he was supposed to disclose that he was totally trying to get in a national icon pants. Steve didn’t technically work for the President so Bucky hadn’t felt the need to inform HR about their budding relationship. 

His supervisor studied Bucky for a moment before mumbling, “That explains why he is more willing to pose for the press now.” Bucky wasn’t really sure what was happening anymore. He just wanted to get time off. He didn’t even know if he qualified for time off as an intern. He knew they owned his soul but surely that entitled to a little vacation time.

“You can have Friday off, but while you're at the gala I need you talk to some people about the President’s clean energy initiative. Stark hasn't been very favorable of the plan,” Bucky Couldn't help but snort because just the other day Tony Had been on CNN completely bashing the clean energy initiative for doing too little and too late. His supervisor shot him a dirty look. “But there will be a lot of people there who can help get public support which we need right now,” his supervisor said. 

Bucky really didn't want to turn his weekend away with Steve into a work trip. He wanted to take his boyfriend to meet his parents and go to a fancy party, not lobby for a clean energy plan he didn't fully support. Also it felt really morally sketchy to use the gala as a place to lobby when the only reason he was going was Steve. At the same time he was pretty sure he would get in trouble for saying no. 

“I guess,” Bucky said unsure. His supervisor narrowed his eyes and frowned.

“I'll get you a list of key attendees I want you to target,” he said in a clear dismissal. Bucky went back to his desk feeling put out. He wished he hadn't told hi supervisor why he needed the time off but he was so excited for the trip he was kind of telling everyone that would listen. It was his first trip with Steve and they were going home for the first time in awhile which made it even more special. He didn't want to have to worry about work while he was trying to have fun with Steve.

Bucky spent the next two weeks trying to memorize the queue cards his supervisor had left on his desk. Bucky had kind of been expecting a short list of a couple of people he should hit up at the Gala, but no he had been left two binders full of pictures and information about key players. Steve helped test Bucky  holding up pictures of Legislators for Bucky to name and prattle off opening small talk topics for each one. 

When Bucky had asked about plane tickets Steve had just told him want time to be at the airport. Bucky took the subway to the airport and almost fell asleep, it was too goddamn early. Steve and Sam were already waiting when he arrived. Steve hugged him and more importantly handed him a Starbucks drink. Bucky made obscene noise while he drank it. Tucked into Steve’s side and properly caffeinated, Bucky Started to feel like a real person. 

“How can you be so goddamn cheerful in the morning?” Bucky asked. Steve shrugged. 

“This guy wanted to go jogging before coming here,” Sam said to Bucky in an incredulous tone. “I'm all for healthy living but not at 3am I'm not.” 

“I still maintain that a light jog would help you sleep on the plane,” Steve said. Sam rolled his eyes. 

“A light jog for you is a marathon to the rest of us so no thank you,” Sam sounding personally affronted. By now Bucky was well aware of the nature of Sam and Steve’s relationship. At first he had been a little threatened by Sam but after spending more than a minute with him, Bucky realized that Sam was just that cool of a guy. 

“Should be getting tickets? I never actually bought one because someone told me not to worry about it,” Bucky said.

“Stark sent a private plane to get us,” Steve explained. Bucky had never been on a private plane before so if he had been awake enough to have feelings he would have been so pumped. As it was he just felt a little dazed about what his life had become; flying to New York for  _ the  _ party of the year on a private plane with his super famous boyfriend. He was literally living a fantasy. “Natasha’s already on the plane so we might as well head over,” Steve said guiding Bucky along. 

Natasha was already lounging in a seat glass of wine in hand when they boarded. The plane was fucking insane. It was more of a party bus than a plane. Bucky was honestly waiting for the strippers to come out of the woodwork. Tony Stark did have a reputation so he wouldn't have been surprised at all. The bar had an impressive selection and a bar tender even though it was literally 4am and no one had any business starting to drink that early. Bucky was almost sad to sleep through it but he ended up falling asleep on top of Steve as soon as the plane took off. Bucky blamed Steve for being too damn comfortable. 

Steve gently work him up when they landed. Feeling much more rested Bucky was excited to go home. He hadn't been back to Brooklyn since moving to DC. His parents had been the ones to visit him since he hadn’t been able to take time off from school and work to make the trip. 

“Tony sent a car,” Steve said sounding personally offended when he stopped the driver holding a card with their names on it. He was probably offended that Stark didn’t think he could make on the subway or something. Bucky really didn't have time

“That man doesn't have the foresight to remember to send both a plane and a car especially two cars since we're going to different places, this is the work of Pepper,” Natasha said. 

“Bless that woman,” Sam said. “We’ll see you guys at the Gala. Good luck meeting the parents, man” Sams said clapping Steve in the back in a hug before departing with Natasha. 

Bucky's really wasn't worried about what his parents would think of Steve, it was Steve after all, his parents would love him. He was more worried about what Steve would think of his parents. Like every child ever, Bucky loved his parents but was deeply embarrassed by everything they did. There was no way they were getting through lunch let alone the weekend without his mom showing Steve baby pictures or his dad……

Getting to his parents house Bucky realized the situation was so much worse than he thought; all three of his sisters are there. Bucky loved his sisters, but they are can put Regina George to shame when they want to. He had wanted to ease Steve into meeting his sisters, meet them one at a time but now they seemed ready to gang up on Steve and there wasn't much he could to prevent it. The first time Bucky had brought a girl home had a crush on home his sisters managed to scare her so bad she changed schools. Ok, that was an exaggeration but she had never talked to Bucky again though. 

Steve made them stop by a florist on the way to buy flowers for his mom. Bucky rolled his eyes, but knew better than to argue with Steve about this. Sometime habits are hard to break and honestly it was kind of cute to see Steve so nervous when he really needn't be. 

“It's a pleasure to meet you in person ma’am,” Steve said handing Winifred a bouquet of flowers. 

“Oh, you shouldn’t have!” His mother gushed hugging Steve. “And call me Winifred,”`

Of course Bucky’s mom loved the flowers. Steve gave bucky a ‘I told you so’ look to which Bucky rolled his eyes. He still maintained that it was just a not very subtle attempt to win over his mother. A totally unnecessary attempt. His mom had been over the fucking moon when Bucky had told her he and Steve were officially dating. She had gushed about how he was finally maturing enough to settle down. He had told her to calm down, they had only gone a couple of dates. They hadn’t even slept to together yet, not he told his mother that because he did have some boundaries. 

“We’re going to to go settle in before you start interrogating Steve,” Bucky said taking Steve’s hand to lead him up the stairs before his sisters could descend upon Steve. 

“So this is your room?” Steve said walking into Bucky’s room hand brushing against the dresser.

“My childhood bedroom. They really haven’t touched it much since I left for DC. I think they're still hoping I change my mind and come back to Brooklyn,” Bucky shrugged. At first that had bugged him, he thought his parents wanted him to fail at his dream, but then he realized that with his sisters starting their own families his parents were just getting lonely. They were incredibly proud of him but they also missed him. He missed them too. His mom was basically his best friend. 

Bucky flopped onto his bed and watched Steve wonder around his room looking at all of his stuff. All of his high school awards were on the walls; his mvp award from the year his football team won state, his first place trophy at state for speech and debate, his science olympiad certificate. There were pictures of him and his friends from high school and college on the walls but honestly they made him more sad than anything else seeing the people he had once considered his whole life only to drift apart the second they weren’t going to the same school. 

Steve was absolutely judging his room. Bucky was kind of glad it was his childhood bedroom and not his apartment because oh boy was that place a disaster. It was clear that his parents had cleaned the room up a little before they got here since nothing was covered in dust. 

Bucky scooted over on his bed to make room for Steve and motioned for him to come lie down with him which Steve did. 

“Your family seems really nice. It must had been nice growing up with all your sisters,” Steve said tucking into Bucky’s side like he wasn’t larger than Bucky. 

“You can only say that because you’re an only child. I wouldn’t give my sisters up for anything btu they are little shits who made my life miserable. They’re family though and I love them,” Bucky said. Steve hummed in acknowledgement and they just laid on the bed in silence until they both fell asleep without meaning to. They woke up to his mom knocking on his door calling them down for a late lunch. 

“If you two don’t have any plans for tonight I thought we could have a family game night,” his mother said sounding so hopeful. 

“That sounds like fun,” Steve said looking over to Bucky for approval. Bucky shrugged trying to hide the fact that he was freaking out that Steve was going to see how insanely competitive his family got over fucking Monopoly. Alsh he didn’t really think Steve would really appreciate the concept of Monomopy that much. 

It turned out Bucky was absolutely wrong about how family game night was going to go down. Steve had decimated everyone in Monopoly grinning like a mad man every time someone landed on his property with all those little hotels. Steve had a little bit of a harder time with Killer Bunnies though which Becca won. 

The day of the Gala felt a lot like when Bucky had gone to prom. He spent all day pretending he wasn’t freaking out, anxious to start getting ready and then when was actually time to put his tux one he went at a snail's pace. Steve helped him with his bow tie because he was hopeless and they went downstairs to see his parents before they went off. 

“Go stand in front of the fireplace so I can take a picture of you two,” his mother ordered. 

“Mooom, this isn’t prom you don’t need to take a million photos,” Bucky whinned.

“Hush up and do what I say,” his mother said in a stern voice. Like the dutiful son he was, Bucky stomped over to the fireplace, Steve trailing behind him amused look on his face. God, Bucky was so embarrassed. His mother took way more photos than Bucky thought was necessary and he knew they would all end up on Facebook. 

A was waiting out front for them when they headed out and this time Steve didn’t even complain about it. Bucky didn’t really start getting nervous until they stepped out of the car onto the red carpet and the flash of the cameras started to blind him. It was only because Steve guided him by the small of his back that he made it into the ballroom without tripping and embarrassing himself. 

Bucky used to be great at networking. He knew everyone at his high school which was saying something since there were 4,000 students. Well ok, he didn't know everyone personally but everyone at the school knew him. He had been on the football team, speech and debate team, science Olympiad, honors society, and volunteered at the local animal shelter. In undergrad be had made special care to go to as many of his professors office hours and mixers as humanly possible.

Now Bucky couldn't even make small talk without stumbling all over himself. He could still charm people without much effort but Bucky's natural inclination was to start talking about his opinion on the latest congressional scandal not make polite talk about the weather. It was DC the weather was always gross and humid. 

White House mixers were the absolute worst though. Part of the internship was getting invited to luncheons and after work mixers. The point of them were to help the interns network and find new resources, but Bucky always felt more like slow torture. Bucky was forced to listen to his coworker's talk out their ass trying to impress. The actual Congressmen were only there to strike their egos with interns kissing their asses. The lobbyists were man hunting but Bucky thought lobbyists were kind of soulless whenever a job pitch came on the table Bucky excused himself from the conversation. 

Walking into the ballroom at Stark tower (apparently only one of many) Bucky felt incredibly underprepared. He was wearing his best tux, well his only tux but he had spent more on it than he really thought was necessary for a piece of clothing, but he still felt underdressed. It was only Steve’s presence at his side that stopped him from spiraling into a full on panic attack. 

Being Steve’s arm candy was both a blessing and a curse. While normally at something like this Bucky wouldn't even merit a second glance, now people wanted to know who Captain America brought along. They were constantly bombarded with people wanting to shake Steve’s hand. Most people were interested in Bucky until they found out he was only a master’s student. Bucky couldn't help but feel like they were sizing up the competition. If he had to watch another person grab Steve’s bicep and laugh about how firm they were, Bucky was going to hurl. Did no one know subtlety? Also he did not appreciate people openingly flirting with Steve while he was right there. Sure he didn't plan them because Steve was fine as hell, but still it was inconsiderate. 

The catering lived up to the hype. Bucky was wondering if he could get a plate to go because he couldn't stop stuffing his face with hordourzes. Eating his nerves was certainly helping, there wasn't room in his stomach for butterflies with all the shrimp he was eating. 

It turned out Bucky didn’t have to try at all to find the people on the list his supervisor gave him. He didn't have to track anyone down as they approached them in order to talk to Steve. When they would turn to Bucky with an appraising eye, Bucky felt like he should have brought resumes it felt so much like an interview. This was how most people in the field got jobs. The fact that he was dating Captain America was going to get him so many job offered. The realization gave Bucky a funny taste in his mouth. He wanted to earn his position not be handed a job just because he knew a guy. 

He wasn’t some totally idealist college freshman though so he knew that wasn’t how it worked in real life. It was more about who you know than what you know. Bucky would be an idiot to throw away this opportunity. Bucky rationalized it by telling himself it was ok because Steve had brought him along for the specific purpose to let him network. The fact that it was the nicest date he had ever been on and that he had taken Steve to meet his parents didn’t matter. 

Steve had gone off to get them some drinks when Bucky saw someone who wasn’t technically on the list his supervisor gave him but still worth talking to. 

“Senator Murkowski, it is good to meet you. My name is James Barnes. I'm one of the interns in the West Wing,” Bucky said shaking the Senator’s hands. Senator Murkowski was head of the commerce subcommittee which would be the first step to get the president’s bill pushed through. The fact that it was a corner stone policy for the president assured the bill would make it out of committee but I wouldn't hurt to actually get the committee on the bill’s side. 

“I'm surprised they let you out to come to a party. They normally work the interns pretty hard,” Senator Murkowski joked.

“Well it's hard to say no whenever Captain America is involved,” Bucky said with a shrug. It was true more than people realized. Captain America could inspire many to take up the good fight with nothing more than a speech made on the fly but Steve Rogers had mastered the sad puppy look. Bucky had seen Natasha cave to that face and if a former assassin couldn't withstand it what chance did normal people like Bucky have? The Senator laughed. Bucky fidgeted nervously. He had no idea how to bring up the bill subtly, he wasn't cut out to smooth talk people. He was better at running numbers and advising from behind the scenes. 

“So the President’s Clean Energy Initiative will be heading to committee soon. This is really a chance for this country to take ownership of its role in cleaning up the environment while still maintaining our energy sovereignty,: Bucky said going for the straightforward method. They both knew he had approached her to talk about that stupid Initiative and not some silly small talk. 

“The President wants to make the tax payer pay for expensive infrastructure that we don’t need when there is plenty of natural gas and oil,” Senator Murkowski said.

“While the Bill is expensive upfront it also lays out how in the long rong switching to renewable energy sources can pay off in the end saving taxpayers money. This Bill isn’t just about fixing an immediate problem but thinking about leaving a better world for our children,” Bucky counter even though it was totally bullshit. While the Bill would allocate more money to renewable energy infrastructure natural gas was for some reason included in that meaning most of the money would be going right into the pockets of the fossil fuel industry. 

“That bill is just bullshit PR. President Elias just wants to look like he gives a shit about the environment without pissing off any of corporations that bought his election,” Tony fucking Stark said because of course Bucky couldn’t have it easy. Where had he even come from? Surely he had something better to do than derailing Bucky’s conversation. While Bucky totally agreed with Tony, he couldn't exactly say that. Knowing his luck it would get back to his supervisor and then he would definitely get fired. 

“Corporations like Stark Industries. I seem to remember quite a bit of the campaign fund coming out of your pocket,” Bucky reminded.

“Was I supposed to let the other guy win? He was literally a nazi,” Tony said incredulously. 

“You get what you pay for Stark. You of all people should know that,” the Senator said with a laugh. 

“All I'm saying is the technology to produce clean energy is available. It’s time to cut loose from oil,” Tony said. 

“The technology exists with that nice Stark Industry patent,” Bucky pointed out. Stark Industries was probably one of the only US based companies who would be ready for sudden shift to clean energy. Stark Industries would make a lot of money selling that technology to companies and government agencies scrambling to meet regulations. Bucky thought the plan was bullshit too but he also knew Stark had his own agenda, he was a businessman after all. 

“And I'm going to steal Bucky back now,” Steve said appearing through the crowd, placing a hand on Bucky’s lower back. 

“Oh my god you're Steve’s Bucky,” Tony said grinning like it was Christmas. 

“Goodbye Tony,” Steve said before using his hand in Bucky’s back to steer them away. Bucky could not have been more grateful for the save. Tony Stark was an obnoxious ass. Bucky's understood now why he featured heavily in Steve’s complaints. Steve steered them through the crowd and out of the ballroom. Steve was very firm in his herding so no one stopped them. 

They stopped by the kitchen were caterers frantically tried to keep up with hungry party goers. Steve manages to charm them into giving them a bottle of champagne each and a giant tray of hordourzes. Steve takes them to what Bucky assumes is his floor of the tower. The place was decked out with every modern convenience anyone could possibly want. Pretty much every surface in the kitchen was a screen which Bucky didn't really see the point of because there was a good chance food was going to get all over those high tech screens. Bucky could see why Steve would prefer staying in Bucky’s well lived in family home. The apartment was really cool and all but felt like he was in a scifi movie and if Bucky who grew up with modern technology felt that way, he could only imagine what Steve felt. 

“Sorry to drag you away but those things can get kind of overwhelming,” Steve said sheepishly. Bucky was about to protest because he was totally fine, but then Bucky realized Steve meant overwhelming for himself. It was funny Captain America never seemed to get overwhelmed during battle but here was Steve Rogers exhausted emotionally after just a couple of hours at a high society party. Considering what Steve had been before all this it wasn't that surprising. 

“Did you ever think you would be mingling with the 1%, having them try and suck up to you, when you were going up in the Depression?” Bucky asked curious. Steve had come so far in his life. 

“No. Growing up sickly no one expected me to live to be thirty let alone make something of myself,” Steve said in brutal honesty. Bucky hoped all those people who had doubted Steve growing up knew and had to live with the fact he had outdone them all. “Sometimes when I was sick and my ma was worn down from trying to support us on her own, I would dream about getting healthier and being able to take care of her; get us an apartment not in the worse part of Brooklyn, buy her clothes and jewelry.” Steve said wistfully. Bucky reached out and grabbed Steve’s hand. Bucky wasn't good with words all the time but he tried to show empathy through touch. 

“She would be happy to see how far you’ve come and that fact that you have accomplished so much and stayed such a good man,” Bucky said.   
“I like to think so,” Steve said so quietly Bucky almost didn’t hear it. They spent the rest of night in Steve’s apartment, Bucky getting totally wasted on champagne with Steve egging him on, he was such an enabler. It was one of the best nights of Bucky’s life. 

On Sunday Bucky definitely wished he had asked for Monday off as well. Not only because he was actually having a pretty great time and didn't want to go back to work, but also because he was so incredibly hung over he didn't think he could make to the airport. He actually wouldn't have if Steve’s morning loving ass hadn't dragged him there. His mother said a ready good bye while Bucky promised to visit soon.

Bucky still wasn’t feeling a hundred percent on Monday but he made it to the office not completely hating his life so he counted that for a win. He hadn’t even sat down when his supervisor came out of his office stopping in front of Bucky, grabbing him. 

“Congrats kid. It looks like you did something right. Senator Murkowski is backing the bill and going on Fox tonight to talk about it,” his supervisor said. Bucky wasn't completely sure he had anything to do with her decision because he really wasn't that convincing to be honest. It probably had more to do with that fact that Tony Stark was so annoying you almost wanted to take the opposite side of the argument just to spite him. Unfortunately Tony Stark was normally on the right side so that just left everyone else to suck it up and get on board. 

“You really proved yourself with this James. Those connections of your’s are a great asset. If you keep being a team player you are going to go far. ” his supervisor said like he was offering something profound. 

“Thank you sir,” Bucky said because that's really all he could say. If his supervisor thought he could use Bucky to by extension use Steve he was wrong, Bucky wasn’t like that. Although hadn’t he already done that at teh Gala? Bucky didn’t let himself go down that route though and just sat down at his desk ignoring the jealous stares of the other interns. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back with more mediocre writing...
> 
> In all honestly sorry it has taken me so long to update this fic, I just had really bad writer's block for the longest time with it. Now I am ready to get it finished up. I already have everything planned out and am dedicated to finishing this up, because I love this story. Hopefully some of you are still with me.
> 
> Also for the purpose of this fic Steve does not live in the apartment from The Winter Solider movie.

Bucky shared an apartment with three people he found through a facebook page for his university.. He had actually only met them for the first time, when he was moving in. His mother had been terrified that he was going to end up rooming with an axe murderer or something, but Bucky really needed people to share the rent with and as long as any murdeers didn’t occur in the common space he was willing to overlook it. He had been a little worried about completely hating his roommates but that had turned out to be a non-issue. None of them were there long enough to bug each other; they were all insanely busy being grad students and working full time to support themselves. The apartment really was just somewhere to hold their stuff and reach for the night. 

Even though he was sure his roommates wouldn’t be home to interfere he couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed to bring Steve home to his train station of an apartment, he wasn’t really the cleanest of people. Steve seemed reluctant to bring Bucky over to his apartment too though. Bucky didn’t count Steve’s apartment in Stark Tower since Steve himself hardly ever used it. It was more like a hotel room than anything else.  Bucky just assumed it was a security thing although he was a little offended by the idea that he would even so to hurt Steve. So at the end of a date Bucky and Steve ended up just staring at each other, clearly not wanting it to end the date, but neither really prepared to offer any alternative. 

They had gone to a lecture by a civil rights activist at the university because it was extra credit for Bucky and Steve just liked that kind of thing because he was a giant nerd. At least it was a little less sad since he was attending with an actual student at the university and not as a sad lonely old man. Bucky was pretty sure at one point they were going to get kicked out because Steve yelling at one guy for his shitty opinion. 

By the time time speaker got control Steve was fuming and Bucky was ready to punch the guy. After the lecture the speaker had stopped them from leaving wanting to talk to Steve. Bucky couldn’t blame her. Steve was the most articulate of the Avengers. Tony Stark talked the most but most but most of what he said was just rambling nonsense. Thor didn’t say a lot but, he made up with it every youtube clip of his armor getting ripped off exposing that godly chest. The others almost never let the press interview them and when they did it always left people a little uncomfortable and with a lot more questions. This was probably why Steve had been left to handle all of the PR for the team when an Avenger was required. 

Steve had told him that Tony totally would have covered them, since Steve himself hated press conferences and dealing with any sort of PR on principle but after the while admitting to be Iron Man thing, SHIELD no longer let him have unfiltered access to the mic. 

At first Bucky had felt a little left out that the speaker was clearly only interested in Steve, but Steve , bless him, made sure Bucky stayed part of the conversation. The faulty host finally dragged the speaker away which left Steve and Bucky to slowly make their way out of the lecture hall. They walked slowly around campus not really with any intention of going anywhere, just talking and prolonging their time together. It was weird walking around campus late late, not as weird as walking around in the morning. That was when campus was truly deserted. 

“So what now?’ Bucky asked when the conversation ran dry and they were just left in a comfortable silence. Steve was casually holding his hand as they walked. Bucky ran his thumb along Steve’s hand just because he could, Steve answered with a little squeeze. 

Steve shrugged, “We already ate, so I don’t know.” They stared at each other. Bucky started to get nervous. “You could come over to my place if you want,” Steve said. Bucky’s stomach started to flutter because this would be the first time he would be hanging out with Steve not in public or his parent’s house and a not a lot had happened with his parents down the hall. 

“Yeah that’s cool,” Bucky said trying to play it cool. It wasn’t a long ride on the subway to get to Steve’s apartment. 

“Why am I not surprised that even though you could probably afford a luxury penthouse apartment or even a fucking mansion, you ended up in a shitty little hole in the ground. I’m guessing SHIELD didn’t pick this place out for you,” Bucky said as they walked up the stairs because the place didn’t have a functioning elevator. A couple of flights of stairs were nothing to a super solider but Bucky was embarrassing out of breath when they got to the sixth floor. His calf muscles were definitely going to be a little sore, Bucky regretted all the times he skipped leg day at the gym. First thing on he was going to do was hit the stairs machine. Steve let out a bark of laughed not sounding winded at all, the bastard. 

“You should have seen the place they set me up with. It was ridiculous and I don’t even want to know what it cost. Still it was a better than the sad 40’s reenactment they had set up when they woke me up,’ Steve said.  Bucky winced with sympathy. He hated the idea of Steve waking up alone and confused and by the sounds of he woke up to a lie.  

“Why come here instead of staying in New York?” He asked curious. As far as he could tell Steve had nothing but fond memories of Brooklynn of you could call being beaten to a bloody pulp and left for dead in pretty much every alleyway fond memories. Steve being the masochist that he was probably did. 

“I love Brooklyn, it’ll always be my hometown but it just doesn't….” Steve said trailing off like he was having  trouble finding the right words. “It doesn’t feel like home anymore. It’s hard to reconnect the Brooklyn in my head with what’s there now. It doesn’t feel like it's the same place. The Brooklyn I want to go home to doesn’t exist anymore,” Steve said solemnly.  Bucky could see how much that was weighing on him. Who could blame him though? It was like being homesick even though you were already home. Home just didn’t feel right and you long for somewhere that did. Steve had lost everything when he went into the ice, now he couldn’t even feel at home. “And DC doesn’t have any of that baggage so it seemed like as good a place as any,” Steve finished. 

“Is DC home then?” Bucky asked even though it was kind of an unfair questions. Steve turned the stairwell to look at Bucky with a small smile.

“It’s starting to be,” he said. They stood on the stairs staring at each other like the sentimental idiots they were Bucky knew he was going red, but luckily the lighting in the stairwell was shitty so Steve probably couldn’t tell but who really knew with his enhanced sight.

“Is it because it’s the only place you can be not be the most patriotic person, even when you are in uniform?” Bucky asked because his mother had always said he used humor in place of dealing with his feelings. Steve laughed and they continued going up the stairs. When they reached Steve’s door Steve patted his pockets looking for keys while Bucky tried to school his breathing back to normal so he didn’t sound like a dying man gasping for air. Right as Steve pulled the key out of his pocket  the door across the hall opened and a blonde woman carrying a laundry basket stepped out. 

“Hi Sharon,” Steve said key in the door knob. 

“Hey Steve. Who’s your friend?,” Sharon asked gesturing with the laundry basket toward Bucky. 

“This is Bucky, he’s my boyfriend that I told you about,” Steve said. Bucky’s heart swelled like it always did when Steve introduced him as his boyfriend. He was very aware of Sharon’s appraising look as she ran her eyes down Bucky’s body. He didn’t really care what she thought of him since Steve had already made it abundantly clear what he thought about Bucky and that’s what mattered. 

“I’d shake your hand but,” Share said with a shrug and a smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Steve so it’s nice to actually confirm that you’re a real person,” She said throwing a smirk at Steve who made a wounded noise. Bucky laughed, Sharon was alright. Anyone who could casually tease Steve and get away with it was alright in Bucky’s book. Lord knows Steve needed it. 

“We don’t want to hold you up,” Steve said opening the door to his apartment and herding Bucky it.

“It was nice meeting you.” Bucky called as the door closed.  “Well your neighbors seem friendly I’m not completely sure my roommates would even notice if I got murdered in my room let alone my neighbors,” Bucky said as he shrugged off his coat.

“Sharon’s a SHIELD agent assigned to the building to spy on me to make sure I don’t get too depressed. They thought I wouldn’t notice,” Steve said so casually like that was a normal thing. But maybe to some who saved the world on a regular basis, invasion of personal privacy was a normal thing. Bucky on the other hand was horrified on Steve’s behalf. Bucky hated how often Steve brushed off things that any regular person would be horrified at. It wasn’t right that he should have to give up his own personal life for the sake of Captain America. Surely giving up his own place in time was good enough. 

“What the fuck Steve? You’re 96 you don’t need a babysitter,” Bucky said. 

“It’s better than the bugs they had planted in the apartment before. I kept destroying those so they sent Sharon although she went by Kate until I called her out. It took a while to get her to admit what she was doing but now we’re actually fairly decent friends,” Steve said as he took Bucky’s coat to hang up. 

“They were bugging your apartment? You’re a fucking national treasure, why the fuck would they need to spy on you?” Bucky puttered ready to fight whoever those shady bastards were on Steve’s behalf since he seemed to be totally ok with all of this. 

“I think they were worried that I wasn’t doing anything,” Steve admitted. 

“What do you mean?” You go on missions all the time for them?” Bucky asked. He hated it when Steve went on missions. Obviously he couldn’t tell Bucky about them so Bucky was just left on radio silence with no way of knowing what was going on. All he could do was check the news hoping not to see Captain America’s obituary. It fucking sucked. Bucky was always a stressed out mess when Steve went on missions. 

“I think they were more worried about what happened in between the missions. I wouldn’t be much use to anybody if I was still living the way I was back when they stuck me in New York when I first woke up,” Steve admitted. Bucky felt his stomach clench thinking about Steve alone with his ghosts in a government issue apartment so closed to everything he lost. Bucky moved to place a hand on Steve's forearm wanting to be close to him, to provide any amount of comfort that he could even though that had all been months ago. “I think before the Battle of New York I was just numb to what was happening to me. I didn’t do anything without being forced to. Then I got mad when I realized what it meant being here. I got mad that they thawed me out instead of just leaving me there, mad at the world for moving on without me. After the whole Loki thing I knew I needed to change or risk falling back into the depression so I took up the job offer with SHIELD and moved here. But nothing really changed, except now I went on what Natasha called my sadness errands, going to see Peggy, visiting my friends graves, you know normal stuff,” Steve said with  a self deprecating smile. Bucky felt like he was going to cry. Why wasn’t anyone there to take care of Steve? He had done so much for this country and they all left him to slowly fade into nothing nut the ink in the history books.  Bucky’s grip on Steve’s arm probably would have bruised a normal person, but Steve didn’t seem to mind, since he was leaning into Bucky’s touch. 

“Steve, are you doing any better?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah Buck, I am starting to get better.” Steve said staring at Bucky with a strange expression on his face. “Although now that I’ve bared my soul to you we should probably move out of the entryway,” Steve said effectively ending the conversation for the moment. Bucky head that he hadn’t even thought about how was feeling but know that he knew, Bucky was going to do everything he could to make sure Steve was getting better.

He was already making a mental checklist of things to ask Steve about, like if he was seeing a counselor or therapist or anyone about it because Bucky had a feeling the guy wasn’t and if his hunch was right then that step 1. Bucky was distracted from from going too far down the list as they walked further into Steve’s apartment. The apartment was tastefully decorated which was the first clue Steve hadn’t been the one to do it. Bucky could see little touches of Steve though; an open sketchbook on the coffee table, a worn out paperback on over a lounge chair armrest, a dirty bowl in the sink. It felt lonely. Even when Bucky was alone in his apartment it didn’t feel lonely. He could picture Steve sitting here playing a record by himself, it was kind of depressing. 

“I bet you’re one of those people who think that music sounds better on vinyl,” Bucky teased walking over to examine Steve’s record collection. You could tell a lot about someone from their music tastes. “That’s because it was the way it was meant to be heard,” Bucky parroted every hipster he had ever met. 

Steve snorted, “Music is meant to be experienced live,” Steve said. 

“Experienced,” Bucky said in a playful mocking tone because god, Steve was a fucking hipster even though he probably didn’t even know what a modern hipster was, which on some level made him even more of a hipster because he wasn’t purposely going for it. 

Curious about what Steve had been listening to last, Bucky put the needle on the record and got it going. He was startled by the loud horns that started blaring as the sound of a big band filled the apartment. Steve laughed at his startled reaction. 

“What were you expecting,” Steve asked. 

“I don’t know something more melancholy, not fucking big band,: Bucky said. Steve gave him a hard look. 

“Bucky, I told you all of that stuff because I trust you. I don’t want it to change the way you look at me or how you treat me. I don’t need you to worry about me. I’m getting better,” Steve said with the defensiveness of someone who didn’t know how to accept help. 

“What if I want to worry about? Someone has to since you don’t seem to worry enough,” Bucky challenged. Because he’d be damned if he didn’t do anything to help Steve now that he knew Steve was struggling. Bucky was Steve’s friend, he wanted to help. 

“I don’t want your pity,” Steve said. Bucky could see Steve’s shoulders stiffen and chest puff out like he was trying to make himself bigger. A man of Steve’s size really didn’t have a reason to make themselves bigger but Steve hadn’t always been so fucking huge. In fact, Bucky just realized how short a period of time Steve had to be in his serum enhanced body. He hadn’t had any time before the ice to experience being himself in a civilian setting. Bucky didn’t think Steve was puffing out to be intimidating as much as he was just trying to not look weak. 

“You’re an idiot. It’s not fucking pity, it’s a friend worrying  about a friend. Surely, you had friends who worried  about you before,” Bucky said because Steve was not getting away with his behavior.

“No, I really didn’t. Not many people had time or patience for the little guy who was more of a burden than he was worth,” Steve said voice so small for his big body. Bucky’s heart broke for Steve in that moment. He wanted to go back in time and personally fight everyone who failed to see Steve Rogers for the good man that he was, still is. Bucky moved into hug Steve because honestly it was the only thing he could think of doing at the moment.

The hug quickly became a heated kiss as Steve ran a hand through Bucky’s hair guiding him. Bucky opened his mouth to let Steve’s tongue in, tasting him. Bucky moaned at the kiss. It was wet and sloppy. With anyone else it would be kind of gross but with Steve all Bucky could do was focus on not letting his knees buckle under him. They broke apart for air eventually.

“Do you want to…?” Steve said eyes darting to a closed door which Bucky guessed lead to the bedroom. His heart picked up because they had never done this before. The furthest they had ever gone was making out. It wasn’t that Bucky didn’t want to or even that he was nervous, he was just excited. He nodded and they parted just enough to shuffled into Steve’s bedroom.

The bedroom was much like the rest of the apartment, furnished by someone with a clear eye for interior decorating and the just the beginnings of Steve putting his personality into the room along the edges. Bucky didn’t really get a good chance to explore through since Steve pushed him onto the bed. Steve shedded his shirt and then climbed above Bucky, leaning down on his elbows to kiss him. Bucky reached up carding his fingers through Steve’s hair melting into the kiss.

Afterward Bucky lay next to Steve who was dozing off. Bucky was wrapped around Steve’s back. He ran a hand absentmindedly along Steve’s stomach, he could feel goosebumps at the touches. He thought back to to their conversation when entering the apartment. He was so grateful that Steve felt comfortable enough with Bucky to tell him all that. Bucky couldn’t pretend to understand what Steve had gone through, was still going through, but he wanted to be right there next to Steve throughout it.

Eventually though Bucky needed to leave. He had stuff to do the next day and even though sleeping over would be amazing, he couldn't really show up to work the next day in his rumpled clothing. Being careful to not wake up Steve, Bucky slid out of bed. He would leave Steve and note and shoot him a text so he knew where Bucky went. Apparently Bucky had not been careful enough because just as he was standing, looking for his clothes Steve sat up. 

“No, stay,” Steve whined grabbing onto Bucky, pulling him back into bed.

“I have class in the morning and then work,” Bucky protested feebly. He didn’t really want to leave but he also didn’t have anything to change into if he did stay the night.

“My apartment is closer to both of those places anyway. You can borrow something of mine to wear,” Steve offered. The idea that Bucky could fit into anything of Steve’s was a little absurd. It also start a million rumors at the office, which Bucky didn’t totally mind. Giving up Bucky crawled back into bed. Steve made a happy noise in triumph and pulled Bucky into his chest that Bucy was his own personal teddy bear. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to sleep in but Bucky didn’t really mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someday I'll post something that isn't insanely dialogue heavy, but that isn't today. I hope you enjoyed the update and weren't too disappointed. Thanks to everyone who has left feedback and kudos so far, they mean the world to me.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys think! Comments and kudos really help me stay motivated plus I love talking to you guy. you can also find me on tumblr at youngavenegrsfeels.tumblr.com


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